Vendetta
The 5th
Massacre Records
2017
“The 5th” is the band’s third release after their reunion in 2002. This album was released about six years after the previous “Feed the Extermination” and that’s a long gap between albums, especially nowadays.
Vendetta may have been a thrash metal act from the 80s but they never managed to get the success that other German thrashers managed to get over the years and become really famous among the metal fans. That’s an old wound that will never close and I think that they will have to live with that thing no matter what. Now, about the “The 5th”, first of all the album has an OK production, not that heavy but the drums and especially the snare seems a bit weak (or buried?). No, the drums do not sound very solid and powerful as they should.
Secondly, the vocalist is one of the worst thrash vocalists out there that can easily cause you a headache after a while. It’s not that the thrash vocalists (even from the big bands) have any great voices on the whole, but at least they are tolerable and they do not make you wanna mute the sound after a while.
Thirdly the riffing and the song-writing (in general) are so generic that make you wanna puke! I think even teenagers can play that generic thrash these days and even have a better (overall) production on their PC. By the way, the album was mixed & mastered by V.O. Pulver (Destruction, Poltergeist, Darkmoon, etc.) and it is still a mystery why it doesn’t sound as good as it should be. Then again, Domi Bertelt is responsible for the recordings and the final production so go figure. Once again, the production is not bad but I think that it doesn’t meet today’s standards that much.
“The 5th” will not make any change to the band’s career and won’t make them more known to the metal scene… it takes a long way and a lot of hard work to achieve that. On the other hand, if the guys are happy with what they do, then nothing else matters…
Vendetta may have been a thrash metal act from the 80s but they never managed to get the success that other German thrashers managed to get over the years and become really famous among the metal fans. That’s an old wound that will never close and I think that they will have to live with that thing no matter what. Now, about the “The 5th”, first of all the album has an OK production, not that heavy but the drums and especially the snare seems a bit weak (or buried?). No, the drums do not sound very solid and powerful as they should.
Secondly, the vocalist is one of the worst thrash vocalists out there that can easily cause you a headache after a while. It’s not that the thrash vocalists (even from the big bands) have any great voices on the whole, but at least they are tolerable and they do not make you wanna mute the sound after a while.
Thirdly the riffing and the song-writing (in general) are so generic that make you wanna puke! I think even teenagers can play that generic thrash these days and even have a better (overall) production on their PC. By the way, the album was mixed & mastered by V.O. Pulver (Destruction, Poltergeist, Darkmoon, etc.) and it is still a mystery why it doesn’t sound as good as it should be. Then again, Domi Bertelt is responsible for the recordings and the final production so go figure. Once again, the production is not bad but I think that it doesn’t meet today’s standards that much.
“The 5th” will not make any change to the band’s career and won’t make them more known to the metal scene… it takes a long way and a lot of hard work to achieve that. On the other hand, if the guys are happy with what they do, then nothing else matters…